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World After Death/Issue 31
James Marshall awoke to a heavy bang at his door, he quickly put on a pair of pants, boots and T-shirt, he pulled the door open to see his father, Samuel Marshall, a tall muscular man with iron gray hair, a stern look on was on his face, this quickly turned into a smile. "James! Good to finally see you up on time, my boy!" "What's going on, dad?" "Me and your brother are going on a run today, figured it's time for you to join us." "Oh, uh I don't know, dad." The smile on Samuel's face faded, the stern look returned. "Now, son. It's been well over a month since all of this. Sooner or later you're gonna have to step up, James." "I know, dad. I'm just..." "Go on." "I'm scared, alright?" James said with shame. Samuel smiled and patted his shoulder. "It's okay to be scared, son." "It's not. I want to be like you and Chris. I want to help this place, pull my weight. I couldn't do it before all this shit, and I can't even do it now. I'm pathetic." "You're not pathetic, James. You're just learning, today is another step in that process. Today you're going to prove yourself I know you will." James took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm ready." ---- James and Samuel left the home and approched a large military truck, something that had been left within Evergreen's walls. Chris Marshall and another man stood around it's hood, looking at a map. Chris looked up. "Dad, James. Good to see you." "Likewise, son. So where are we heading?" "Supermarket, it's about fifteen minutes from here. Drew here found it the other day." Chris patted the young man next to him on the back. He had a scoped hunting rifle slung over his shoulder and wore a white headband. The man smiled. "It was nothing, just doing my-" "Nothing?! You've really pulled your weight around here, Drew. If this place is well stocked, we could have enough for well over half a year." Samuel said. "Yeah, maybe you're right, boss. I'm just overly modest." Three more men approched. A tall Caucasian man, with a dark red hat and green jacket. A tall black man in a red sports jacket; and a short stocky man his balding head covered with a ball cap. The black man handed a silver plated handgun to Chris. "Got all cleaned for you, sir." He said in a booming voice. "Appreciate it, Desmond. Looks brand new." "You gonna be okay with looking after things, Desmond?" Samuel asked. "Of course, sir. Won't be a problem at all." "Good to hear. James go get yourself a pistol from the armory." "No way. He's coming with us?" The stocky man asked. "Got a problem, Hines?" "Uh, not at all. It's just..." "He's just a kid." The man in the red ball cap stated. "He ain't no kid. He's nearly nineteen, Tyler. You're already in hot water for your little outburst the other day, so you mind your mouth." Chris responded. Tyler hung his head in shame. "Sorry." "Sorry what?" Tyler sighed. "Sorry, sir." "That's better. Now James, do as dad said and get a gun, we'll wait." "Yes sir." James headed towards a small shed type complex and knocked on the door. A few moments later a young woman, with soft green eyes behind a pair of glasses answered the door, she smiled at the sight of James. "James so good to see you. What can I do for you?" James choked up, he always got nervous in Megan's presence. "Um, hi Megan. Just needed to get a gun." "A gun, for what?" "I'm going out with my dad and brother today." "Oh...okay, just go talk to Richard." She sad in a somewhat saddened tone. James walked past her and just a few feet away a buff red headed man sat behind a desk, behind him a locked door, he looked up. "What's up, James?" "Hey, Richard. I need a gun I'm going on a run today." "They're bringing you on a run?" Richard asked with doubt in his tone. James sighed. "Yes, they are. What's the big idea?" "Nothing, just shocking. You know how to shoot?" "I can handle pistols." "Alright." Richard stood from the chair and unlocked the door behind him, after a few minutes he came back with a glock handgun and four extra mags, he handed the items to James. "It's already loaded, and I got you four spare mags. Don't use them all in one place." "I won't thanks, Richard." "No problem. Good luck out there, kid." ---- James left out the front door and nearly collided with another person, he stopped himself at the last second. It was a short white haired old man, he looked sickly with a deep sunken in face, but a warm smile. James recognized him as Ernie, he had been found just a few days ago by his brother Chris, all by himself. No one knew how he even made it a day alone. he carried a mop and bucket. "Sorry, sir." He said in a soft almost inaudible voice. "No harm done, Ernie. What are you up to?" "Was gonna do a bit of mopping." "Shouldn't you be resting?" Ernie let out a weezey laugh. "I don't want people thinking I'm some useless old timer. I've done this kind of thing my whole life. I'll be fine." "Very well. Have a good day, Ernie." "You too, sir." James walked past him and returned to the truck Samuel and Chris were waiting outside of it, the others sat inside. "Took you long enough sport." Samuel said with a laugh. "Sorry, dad. Bumped into Ernie on the way out, he chatted me up." "Or you were chatting up that Megan girl, eh?" Chris said smiling. "I wasn't." "I know you're sweet on her, James." "I'm not and even if I was, she's too old for me." "Too old? She's like twenty, you could get with her no-" "Don't heckle him, son." Samuel sated sternly. "Uh, yeah. Sorry dad." "Right then. Chris you're at the wheel, I'll be up there with you. James you ride in the back with the others." "Got it." James got in the back of the truck. The huge vehicle quickly pulled out of the gate. Desmond waved at them. "Safe hunting, guys!" ---- The truck bounced along a gravely. Hines pulled a can of a beer from his backpack and popped it open, taking a long sip. "Should you really be drinking?" James asked. Hines snorted. "Shut up, brat." "Can it, Hines you're going to get in trouble." Tyler said. "Bosses can't hear me back here. I can say whatever I please. I'm not gonna let some kid boss me around." "Fuck off, Hines." James said in a meek voice. Hines held up his hands. "Shit, we got a badass here." "Hey, Hines just back off. Don't make me kick your ass again." Tyler said with a sly smile. Hines rubbed the scar underneath his eye. "You got lucky on that one, Tyler. Besides you know what happens if you cause more trouble. You get thrown out on your ass. Same goes for your sister. I know you wouldn't risk her just to teach me a lesson." "Let's change the topic guys. How is Sidney doing, Tyler?" Drew asked. "She's doing better, still sick, but the medicine David gave her is really helping her." "She eighteen yet?" Hines asked. "No. And even if she was I wouldn't let her anywhere near your ugly ass." Tyler said sternly. "I was just joking around damn, you're too serious lighten the fuck up." "I will when you stop being such an asshole." "How about that hot little Mexican chick you came in with Alicia right?" "Hines that's the man's girlfriend, don't talk about her." Drew said. "What? I wasn't insulting her, I'm just pointing out she's a fine woman. Tell me you wouldn't plow that, Drew." "Shut your mouth, Hines." Tyler said with anger rising in his tone. "Alicia is a nice girl, we don't need to be talking about her like this." Drew said with annoyance. "What she doesn't hear won't hurt her. Man, if I was with her I don't even know if I could last a minute with-" Tyler slammed Hines to the truck wall and raised a balled fist. "I told you to shut the fuck up!" Before anything else could happen, the truck came to a very sudden halt with a loud hiss of the brake. Both men flew to the ground, breaking up the potential fight. "Everyone out, we're here!" Chris yelled from the front. ---- James along with the others slowly approched the giant supermarket, they could see the shelfs inside still stocked with food. "Damn, good find, Drew." Chris said giving Drew a pat on the back. Drew smiled. "Thanks, sir." The doors slowly slid open and the group walked through. "Surprised the auto doors still work." James said. "Yeah, barely. I'll find something to prop them open with." Hines said. Samuel tossed James a large bag. "Fill this wish as much stuff as you can, son." James nodded and went though the bread aisle stuffing ever package of bread he could see into his bag. Suddenly a dark figure grabbed him and tackled him to the floor, it was a balding man maybe in his early 50's he had jet black hair and wore a leather jacket. James felt cold steel press against his neck. "You with that Seth asshole, huh?" The man questioned with a thick English accent, "What?" "Answer the bloody question, numb nuts. Are you with Seth?" "I don't...I don't know a Seth." Chris came around the corner with his handgun trained on the man. "Get off him...now" The man tucked away his knife and stood up, helping James to his feet as well. "It's cool, dude. You're not the guys I was looking for." Samuel joined them. "Who are you looking for?" "Some arsehole named Seth, little rat shot my friend in cold blood." "That so?" Samuel said, with doubt in his tone. "Well, to be fair I may have killed a few of his friends, but still. This guy is ruthless he tried to rob us I fought back, killed to of his buddies and he got mine. I managed to escape, when a pack of freaks moved in." "How many people does this "Seth" have?" "Not sure I think four or five, this was a few days ago. I really can't remember." "What's your name anyway?" Samuel asked. "Cicero." "What? Is that some kind of joke?" "No, not at all. It's a nickname. I don't like giving out my real name." "Why not?" "No idea. I guess everyone has a secret to keep." "Okay... Well I'm Samuel Marshall, these are my sons Chris and James. If you like you're more than welcome to join us. We're always looking for more-" "Dad...we can't just bring this guy in." Chris said. "Why not? We let Desmond in and the Harter's and Tyler and his people. Look at how much they've helped us. If we're ever going to build a community we need people that's the most important piece of it all. Without that we're nothing." "Well it's just-" Before Chris could finish the bark of a heavy pistol possibly a magnum interrupted him, a light but loud voice spoke after it. "Hey we know people are in there, come on out and we won't have any problems here." "Fuck a duck..." Cicero said under his breath. ---- Samuel, Chris and Tyler all went outside to see what was going on. James and Cicero stayed in the store along with Drew. "This better not be some kind of set up." Drew said to Cicero. "It's not, mate. Seriously." There were four men, all of them armed with handguns, except for one who carried a shotgun. The presumed leader was a skinny man, he looked like a drug addict, he had a pistol almost as big as his head pointed to Hines' head who was on his knees tied up in front of him. The man with the shotgun was a large Hispanic man an angry scowl on his face the man next to him looked similar, like they were related, he was smaller and carried a glock and had the visible arm tattoos of a gang member. The final man was fairly muscular and wore a ball cap to hide his bald head, he held a large frame revolver. "Howdy, folks," the man said with a wicked smile on his face, pressing the gun closer to Hines' head. "Who the fuck are you?" Chris questioned. "My name is Seth. I was wondering if you could help me out." "That depends. How about you let our man there go?" Samuel said. "Hey he drew on us." Seth said. "Yeah, cause you drew on me asshole I-" "Quiet, the adults are talking here." "Look what do you want?" Chris asked angrily. "I'm looking for this guy named Cicero. Fucker killed two of my people and I want his head. Just wondering if you've seen him." There was a short pause before Samuel spoke. "We haven't sorry." Seth chuckled. "That's funny because one of my boys here saw that little bastard run in that store there about ten minutes ago." Chris began to reach for his gun. "Lying fucks." Seth pulled the trigger of his magnum sending a large bullet through Hines' head killing him instantly and sending his corpse to the pavement. "Fuck!" Tyler, Chris and Samuel all quickly spread out as did Seth's group. Before Samuel could draw his gun Seth fired another round into his stomach, Samuel grabbed the wound and fell to his knees. "Dad!" Chris fired a few rounds, but Seth took cover behind a small car. Tyler fired his M9 two times both shots hit the tattooed Hispanic man killing him. The last two of Seth's men scattered and ran. Chris and Tyler chased them. James, Drew and Cicero ran outside. Cicero and Drew followed Chris and Tyler. James kneeled down next to his father and grabbed his hand. "Dad are you still there?" He asked through the tears clouding his vision. "James...you have to be strong, son. One day it'll be you in charge...there's no time to cry." "Dad, please don't go." James didn't want to cry, but he couldn't hold the tears in any longer, they flowed down his face like a waterfall. "I'm...I'm sorry, son." Samuel closed his eyes, James knew he was gone, he noticed a shadow loom over him, he looked up and could see the man Seth standing over. "Aw, ain't that a damn shame." Seth said in a sarcastic tone. James looked up at him. "Just do it." Seth shrugged. "If you insist." He pressed the gun to James' forehead, James waited for death he heard a loud gunshot, but he quickly realized he wasn't dead, he opened his eyes and saw Seth on the ground in front of him dead, a large hole in the side of his head, blood pouring from his mouth. He looked to his right Cicero was standing still in a shooting position, the barrel of his scoped rifle was smoking. Chris and the others returned. "James you alright!?" Chris asked in a panic. He hugged James tightly. "I'm fine, Cicero saved me." Chris looked at Cicero. "Thank you." "Don't mention it. Just glad to be rid of that Seth asshole." Chris looked at his dead father, his eyes watered he sighed sadly and shot him in the head. "Drew, Tyler. Get him wrapped up...please. Hines too, we're not leaving them here. The rest can rot" Both men nodded and left. "You get those two runners?" Cicero asked. "I got the big fella, the other got away." Chris paused as another man approched behind them, he was the last bandit, he had his hands up Chris aimed his pistol at him, the man stopped, but kept his hands up. "P-please I don't want trouble. I didn't even want to fight you I'm just a kid, man they made-" Chris fired a shot instantly silencing the boy his body fell in a heap. Chris didn't even show an emotion to doing this, he turned to James. "You know why I did that right, James?" James was confused and still sobbing over his dead father. "I...I guess so." "Cowards like him and these bandits, all they do it prey on weaker people. Up to stronger people like us to exterminate these pests. You understand, James?" James shook his head. "Yeah...I do." Chris gave him another hug. He looked at Cicero. "You're with us now. If you didn't save my brother here I probably would have killed you. You got real lucky here today. Do not waste this chance." Cicero nodded. "I won't you'll see." "Good...now let's get out of here." ---- A loud banging noise woke James from the dream, he looked at the window dusk was just beginning to settle, the banging noise continued at his door. "One minute dammit!" He yelled. James stood from the bed and looked at his hands, both were coated with dried blood from the engagement just a few hours earlier he put on his glasses and went to the door he opened it to see a panicked Cicero. "Cicero what's going on?" "Those people they're here...they're attacking." James nodded. "Mobilize the forces...it's time to end this." To Be Continued... Credits *Samuel Marshall *Chris Marshall *James Marshall *Tyler Barns *Desmond *Drew *Hines *Megan Harter *Richard *Ernie *Cicero *Seth *Bandit 1 *Bandit 2 *Bandit 3 Deaths *Hines *Samuel Marshall *Seth *All of Seth's bandits Trivia *First and last appearance of Hines *First and last appearance of Samuel Marshall. *First and last appearance of Seth. *First and last appearance of Seth's bandits. *This issue is largely a flashback showing the death of Chris and James' father, Samuel and also showing how Cicero joined Evergreen. *The ending of the issue is actually a flash forward, showing future events of volume 6. *This is the first issue to not feature Vince Garcia. Previous Issue: Issue 30 Next Issue: Issue 32 Category:World After Death Category:World After Death Issues Category:Issues Category:Ghost